Heeeeeey~. So remember when I said I was eager to convert things over to GB Studio Version 2? I did that. And then did a bunch of work in it. And then found out things were way more broken than I realized. And I kept working away for a while hoping Version 2 would fix my issue. Then they went radio silent to work on a rewrite of the whole thing for Version 3, in a less public manner. I wasn't capable of fixing my issue at the time, and I didn't even know how I'd work around a key system no longer being functional, so I shelved the game and worked on Cuddle Kobold: Just a Bite. 

So that was about 2 years.

After I reached the end of Just a Bite, I was burned out. I took a break, and during that break, I was contacted by WikiSims asking about old versions of GB Studio for very specific compatibility needs. Because I kept hoping for a fix, I have many of the compiled versions downloaded. So I sent it off to them, then remembered you can eject the core of GB Studio. I was too fuzzy on proper coding back then (which is why I was using a scripting-based tool in the first place), but on a lark I gave it a look, and mostly fixed my problem within an hour. I found the unfinished Version 0.42, and decided I'd polish it off and release it, to tie up that loose end.

So that was about 2 months.

The truth is though, this was a great break for me. I'd been overwhelmed at the prospect of pivoting right to my next big VR project. Coming back to making Rulent Tower is comfort food, going back and laughing at my own dumb jokes and rediscovering easter eggs even I'd forgotten about. I got a little carried away with adding content; this is probably one of the biggest updates the game has ever seen. It's still not "done", please understand that's a LOT more work than I have time for right now. I'd like to continue working on Rulent Tower, but it's something I can't work on while making money, due to the nature of the game. GB Studio v3  is also mature enough at this point (and just received a major update after some time!) that if I were to work more on Rulent Tower, I might be better off actually rebuilding it this time for all the new features and plugins it'll provide. If I do that, it'll have to be as a side project, because my Patrons have been exceedingly patient and I can't thank them enough for it.

And thanks to WikiSims for jumpstarting this process, Marskie for checking in on the Picarto streams and being so supportive, and Sofox for being a great friend despite all the toilet bean jokes. And to the creators of GB Studio of course, for making something still fun to create games in when everything else seemed too overwhelming.

One last thing before the patch notes: I took several months off of my Patreon to focus primarily on this update, and I suspect I'll be feeling the effects of that for a while. If, and only if, you feel so inclined to boost me in general as a creator, I have a rarely-used Ko-Fi right here: https://ko-fi.com/setsune I both want and need to stress that this does NOT impact or relate to the future development of Rulent Tower at all. No wink-wink nudge-nudge or anything like that. This is just if you want to make my next few months in general a little easier as I prepare for a new push. Thank you for reading and considering it.

RT Changes (v0.42) Since Last Release

• Ported from GB Studio 1.2 to 2.0
  • Several new features and built-in game structures
  • Game Boy Color support, gave each character a unique palette, and some scenes received themed palettes with a few instances of special colorization
    • "Proper" full colorization would require significant artwork reworks and simplification, but it still looks cool as it is.
    • Original Game Boy is still supported!
  • Introduced some new bugs that should mostly have been corrected for
• Tentative New Warning Screens
  • The language and layout is not finalized
  • They show on cold boot, and if you have a save file, the wait time to close them is much shorter
• Setsune title card can be skipped by holding A after the second warning screen
  • You can also skip between the name reveal and the jingle, but I can't interrupt either once they've started for engine reasons
  • The new "Day 1" intro screen can be skipped like this as well
• Ren and Ky New Apartments (work in progress)
  • Ky's Apartment now has an icon (still being painted during daytime!)
  • Ky's apartment (WIP) is like the crew quarters of a space station, complete with totally working teleporter!
  • Ren's apartment (WIP) is based on late 90's / early 2000's home furnishings with digital touches!
    • Small adjustments made to the Pizza cutscenes to align for the new apartment and adjust positioning
    • Ren and Ky learned some new stories to tell each other
    • Pizza Perzzon has a new look and new employment
    • Included a temporary bed graphic so the alternate ending path is more obvious
    • Tweaked Temp Ren ending images to slightly improve them
• Ky Pause Temp and Map background tweaks
• Pause Screen now features a flashing A graphic to open the menu
• Bummie and Salty full 4-way sprites, Avatar Tweaks, some very early apartment elements
• Salty's special zone has a close-up image (when Streamer Mode is disabled)
• Tail 7 unique sprites and animations, some minor dialogue changes
• Minina 4-way sprites and base avatar (No Emotes Yet)
• Popper Sprites and base avatar (No Emotes Yet)
• Minina & Popper's apartment has a few early details, including a more festive dance floor and her Scratch Station!
• Leo has moved to a new apartment, and Setsune is temporarily taking up residence in their old digs until the new tenants move in
  • Setsune switched the song, which should be familiar to those who've explored RT VR.
• Hikes-Her-Skirt 4-way sprites (No Avatar Yet)
• Rogue's eternal ear changes
• Kyanal Spriteset Minor Tweaks
• Alternate Kyanal hairstyle! (Look for a "hare dresser"?)
  • You can switch back by sitting in the seat again. She's a miracle worker.
• Floral's apartment has a few early details
• Floral catches you leaving
• You can get a boost to your running speed by checking somewhere outside
• Koop*ach renamed to Kowsette due to Nint*ndo heartlessly stealing my amazing pun to use in an official art book. Quite rude of them.
• F*tashy renamed to Butterpry due to concerns about the potentially offensive term (and the nickname was already used heavily in fandom anyway, better to go with something more unique)
• Adjusted some back alley graphics
• Outside NPC (previously generic) has a new look and will hang around if you don't talk to them before Shizaball
• Fixed a Library easter egg not setting the proper flag
• Fixed a camera bug inside Elevator, sped up the door opening both inside and out
• Fixed music not restarting in some areas if you paused and unpaused
• Changed music for nighttime hallway and return to Ky's quarters
• Added Music toggle to pause screen if you need an audio break (does not toggle the "event jingles")
• Loading a Save from the Pause Menu asks for confirmation before doing so
• Modified a few text graphics for legibility
• Ending Screens ("End of Day 1" and "Special Thanks") can be quickly skipped by holding A before they start up (sorry they can't be interrupted partway through, for now)
• Special Thanks has been updated to include new Thanks, Music credits, and some graphics changes
• Lots of tiny tweaks and additions to the dialogue
• Several new Easter Eggs!
• Known Bugs:
  • Can Talk/Check while mid-step (haven't noticed an issue because of this so far)
  • Checking an object where an NPC is standing will activate both messages in a row
  • The Broom Closet dialogue can get mixed up with item descriptions if you're standing in front of one as you hear it. Pausing during a later fade in during that sequence may also slightly break the sequence flow, but not seriously.
  • Moving at the same time the archery target marker is swaying may briefly result in black screen flickers. The minigame will get rebuilt for a future version. If you find it obnoxious, try waiting a moment, as you'll naturally drift closer to the center of the target over time.

Enjoy the update to Rulent Tower!